Let the police do their job

Let the police do their job

A plan, by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), to summon Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi over the sugar smuggling scam deserves appreciation.

However, the KPK should be more careful in handling the matter so as not to trespass on the responsibilities of two existing institutions; the prosecutor's office and the police.

In that way the KPK would be able to focus on cases with a high political dimension, which the prosecutor's office and the police might not be able to deal with efficiently.

It is feared that the KPK's interference in the sugar smuggling issue might screw up legal proceedings by the police and prosecutors.

The police have announced two suspects in the sugar scam.

Efforts exist to spin the matter into a political issue. The request by the House of Representatives to set up a special working committee to deal with the matter is an obvious example of its being politicized. Three commissions at the House have expressed an interest in the matter. The House is behaving rather oddly. Several consultative body (Bamus) meetings -- which involve its core responsibilities -- have been delayed for failing to meet the quorum. So why is the House so interested in the sugar case?

By the way, a presidential decree on sugar trading, as proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, deserves support.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta